Saw this over on Business Wire:
Optical Express has today received an apology from Associated Newspapers for several inaccuracies they published in an article in the Daily Mail and Mail Online about lens replacement surgery earlier this year.
The article claimed that hundreds of patients were at risk of blindness due to Optical Express implanting what they claimed to be faulty lenses in patients' eyes. In a statement that was read in open court today (Tuesday, 24 March 2015) Associated Newspapers admitted that this allegation was 'completely untrue.'
Chairman and Chief Executive of Optical Express David Moulsdale said today:
"In getting their story wrong, the Daily Mail caused distress to our employees, our patients and significantly damaged our business. I am pleased that the Daily Mail has taken this action today and apologised for the fact that they got it wrong.
"I fully support the media's role in our society to pursue stories that are in the best interests of the public. However, with that also comes a responsibility to make sure that every article is well researched and entirely accurate.
"We have treated over 600,000 patients for laser eye surgery in the UK alone. This makes us the market leader by a considerable distance. We could not possibly have reached this position if we were not continually delivering outstanding clinical results for our patients and exceeding their expectations.
"There is no other type of elective surgery that has such excellent outcomes and high satisfaction for patients than corrective laser eye surgery.
"However, at the same time as we have treated this huge number of patients, we have declined to treat almost the same amount. Our conservative clinical selection parameters have meant that we have refused to treat over 500,000 patients because we did not consider that they would achieve an excellent outcome.
"Those 500,000 patients we declined to treat represented potential income of over two billion pounds for the Optical Express business.
"Our clinical results, that are independently audited, speak for themselves. Over 99% of patients we treat tell us that they would recommend us to their family and friends.
"Thanks to the outstanding results we achieve, through the dedication and hard work of our clinicians, our unparalleled investment in the latest state of the art technology and our commitment to excellence in every part of our business, Optical Express remains the number one provider of corrective laser eye surgery."
Share This Article
